


Tatiana, Barb and the Post-Apocalypse

by okemmelie



Category: Spies Are Forever - Talkfine/Tin Can Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, F/F, Falling In Love, Post-Zombie Apocalypse, Zombie Apocalypse, by the powers vested in me by being a lesbian i now pronounce tatiana lesbian, somewhere between the point of apocalypse and post-apocalypse, zombie typical tropes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-05
Updated: 2020-10-31
Packaged: 2021-03-08 02:28:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 5,865
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26838232
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/okemmelie/pseuds/okemmelie
Summary: Tatiana meets Barb in a very strange world, under very strange circumstances. Falling in love when death is always lurking right around the corner is a strange feeling, but strangely Tatiana doesn't mind too much
Relationships: Barb Lavernor/Tatiana Slozhno
Comments: 26
Kudos: 20





	1. The Treehouse

**Author's Note:**

  * For [my friend ava who may or may not have an ao3 account](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=my+friend+ava+who+may+or+may+not+have+an+ao3+account).



> i love zombie media so much, so here's another saf fic filled with zombie media typical tropes! this first chapter is tatiana and curt hanging out and fighting zombies, but barb shows up in the next chapter so it's okay

The crisp autumn leaves that lines the forest floor don’t do much to soften the sound of Tatiana’s feet hitting the ground. She’s usually pretty quiet as she runs – of course she is, she’s a trained spy – so she blames the leave and quietly curses at them under her breath, since being completely stealthy is out of the question anyway.

Curt is running alongside her, his steps even heavier but his breathing just as quiet. They’re running from something. Well, “zombies” as everyone keeps insisting they’re called, but Tatiana thinks that sounds ridiculous. Zombies are creatures of myth and movie screens. These things are real. And they’re catching up.

In order to survive in the world, Tatiana finds, you have to be alert at all times. Her partner is not. “Curt, watch out!” She points towards a new herd, one approaching from the other side of Curt, but it’s too late.

A zombie crashes into Curt, but he manages to shake it off on his own. Which is good, because she’s already slashing her machete at the next one in line. The blood of the once human now creature sprays across the ground, leaving the beautiful greens, yellows and oranges of the undergrowth stained a dreadful black.

After maneuvering around a bit and fighting off a few more of those things, Agent Tatiana Slozhno finds herself back to back with Agent Curt Mega (she knows she doesn’t have to use their full names and that their titles no longer matter, but Curt is her friend and she knows he enjoys those silly titles; she’s not going to give him the satisfaction of calling them that out loud in case they make it out alive but just in case they don’t, she doesn’t mind dedicating her last moment to her best friend in this dying world).

They don’t quite have time to make eye contact while looking over their shoulders before another wave of zombies comes close. There’s no reason to check up on Curt, he’s a skilled fighter and she trusts him to warn her if something goes badly. Unlike her, he’s an open book. And unlike him, she’s quick to get them out of trouble.

Tatiana’s machete connects with the skull of another zombie and she watches it fall dead for a second. But it’s the fraction of a second too long, because before she knows it, another zombie makes a run for her. It’s teeth connect with her wrist, sinks into it and it hurts. It hurts like nothing Tatiana has ever experienced before.

But she doesn’t scream. In fact, she doesn’t make any sound at all. She grabs the machete from the dead zombie’s head with her free, non-bitten hand and proceeds to decapitate the one that doomed her. Then she quickly pulls her sleeve down.

While moving in to behead the last remaining zombie on Curt’s side, her eyes travel over the surrounding forest. There’s a new herd approaching from west, but luckily they’re heading north.

“Go!” She grabs Curt’s arm for a second before taking off in the direction of the outpost. They can’t go back to the safehouse, not right now, not like this, but they can climb up into their treehouse and wait it out. Find a solution. She doesn’t have time to think of one right now, not with the adrenaline pumping through her veins and Curt’s life on the line, but she’ll figure something out. She has to.

Sometimes she hates how polite and proper Curt can be about things. She appreciates his whole gentleman-and-hero thing, it’s quite endearing, but he needs to be the first one to crawl up the ladder. Not her. She knows the look in his eyes and that it’ll take an argument for that to happen, even in a dire situation like this one, so she sighs and starts climbing.

When she makes it to the top, to the safety of the treehouse, she puts her bag in the corner and lays down on her back away from the entrance so Curt can crawl in as well, which he does not long after. He throws his bag down next to hers before sitting down with his back pressed against the wall.

They’re safe. Well, he’s safe. And that’s close enough, she decides. It has to be.

“We did it,” he breathes after a while. They don’t need to be this quiet and Curt knows it, so probably he’s just out of breath after their run from the hospital. “We really did it.”

There’s a smile on his lips that Tatiana can’t quite find the strength to reciprocate. “We did. Now we just need to, how you say, get you back to base.”

“Get  _ us  _ back to base,” he corrects. When her demeanour doesn’t change, Curt raises an eyebrow. “You mean us, right? Please tell me you mean us.”

She laughs. There’s not much behind it, only bitterness and regret. “Look down, Curt Mega. We haven’t exactly managed to not draw attention to ourselves. If we both go, we’re going to die in these woods. And then what good will this have been?”

“But…” She doesn’t even need to cut him off. He realizes on his own that he’s right and she watches as he reluctantly scoots to the window to confirm that she is, in fact, right.

Careful not to reveal her bite, she sits up and puts her hand on Curt’s cheek. “Take my machete. When you hear the first gunshot, you run. Understood?” She looks into his eyes and he nods. “Good. Take my bag as well. And be careful.” She pulls him in for a hug and luckily, he lets her. She wants to cry, but she can’t. Not yet.

“Aren’t you the one who’s being reckless?”

“Shut up.”

She helps Curt pack up and they say their proper goodbyes. Well, close enough anyway. She promises Curt she won’t end up as another Owen, lost among (and to) the terrible creatures who roam these woods. This world. It’s not completely a lie. She plans to end it herself before she turns (or before one of those things ends it for her). She might already be a dead woman, but that’ll be on her own terms.

When he leaps to another tree and waves goodbye in such a casual manner that makes her think that  _ he thinks  _ they’ll see eachother soon, that’s when the first tear runs down her cheek. Luckily he’s too far away to see it, so she waves back and starts her own descent. She might be going down, but she plans on taking as many of these things with her as she can.

The shots are loud. Much louder than the sound of Curt running through the forest towards the safehouse, their home. And that’s a good thing, because it means the zombies left in the area make their way towards her, not him. It means he survives.

Eventually the zombies stop coming. Tatiana lets out a deep breath, relieved yet somehow more scared than ever. She made it through this, survived despite being outnumbered. But now it’s over and it’s her job to end it before anyone else gets hurt due to her recklessness.

She writes a note for Curt, should he come back. It doesn’t say much except that she’s sorry. She has a lot more to say, but the words just aren’t coming to her so she leaves it at that. Then she picks up her gun and inspects it for a second, and before she knows it, she’s staring down the barrel of her own gun.

It’s better than the barrel of someone else’s gun, she supposes. And it’s certainly better than turning into one of those things. She pulls the trigger. She pulls the trigger and nothing happens.

_ Fuck. _


	2. An Angel

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a much less action-y chapter. as a treat

When she opens her eyes, she is no longer in the treehouse. The sounds of the forest has been replaced by constant buzzing coming from the bright lights in the ceiling that nearly blinds her in her half-awake state.

She takes a moment to orient herself. The room is mostly white, save for the metal table she woke up on and the grey tiled floor. Where is she? Is she dead?

Suddenly, the lights flare up some more and Tatiana tightly shuts her eyes to avoid being blinded. There’s a noise – a door opening perhaps? – and when she once again opens her eyes, someone else is in the room with her. A shorter woman with short blonde hair, glasses and a white lab coat.

“Are you an angel?” Tatiana asks. She figures the easiest way to get answers is to just ask; no use in waiting around if she can get the answers right away. Besides, the woman is rather beautiful and Tatiana was always told angels were too.

The woman looks down, and Tatiana can’t help but notice that there’s a smile on her lips and a rose color on her cheeks. It doesn’t make her less beautiful. “Ah, no… no, I’m afraid not,” she laughs. Then she collects herself, stands up correctly and takes a deep breath. She reaches her hand out for Tatiana to take. “My name is Barb Lavernor. I’m a scientist, not an angel. This is not heaven, it’s CHQ.”

Huh. “So I’m not dead?”

Barb Lavernor looks at her with a puzzled expression, her head tilted slightly to the side. “No. You’re not dead. You’re very much alive.” She pauses. “You thought you were dead?”

That’s when it hits her. She’s been bit. “You need to get out of here,” she says. Then she backs up to the corner furthest away from Barb, furthest away from the door. “You need to get out of here and then you need to find someone to get rid of me. One of those things… they bit me.” She holds up her arm as proof. “I don’t want to turn into one of them and I certainly don’t want to take you down with me.”

Strangely, Barb doesn’t react with concern. She doesn’t even blink. “According to my superior, your name is Tatiana, is that correct?”

Avoiding her warning is a strange strategy. Did Barb not hear her? She wants to shake her head, but her name  _ is  _ Tatiana. “Yes, that is correct.” Who is her superior? And why do they know her name?

“Tatiana, how long does it take for a person to turn into a zombie?”

She doesn’t need to think about that one. “Twelve hours.”

Barb nods. Of course she does, because Tatiana is right. It takes twelve hours after a person has been bitten before they turn hostile and hungry. “You’ve been here for two days.”

It doesn’t add up, not at all, but Barb has an air of honesty about her. Tatiana is usually good at reading people, and Barb doesn’t seem tense; doesn’t seem like she’s lying either. “Alright. Alright, I can work with that. I have some… questions. I hope you understand. This is a  _ strange  _ situation.”

“Oh, of course. Actually, my previously mentioned superior mentioned wanting to see you. I’m sure he has more answers than I do. Would you be comfortable with that?”

Tatiana takes a moment to think it over. It’s a bit strange, a bit suspicious, that she’s here. She doesn’t know what CHQ means (well, headquarters most likely, but that doesn’t solve the C) and she’s sure she’s never seen Barb before. But how did she end up here? She last remembers passing out in the treehouse. Why did they bring her? How did they even know to bring her? Maybe Barb’s superior can answer that. She nods.

Then Barb starts leading her out the white room and down a few hallways. They smalltalk on the way. Well, Tatiana small talks. Barb enthusiastically answers her questions and honestly? Tatiana kind of enjoys it. It reminds her a bit of Curt, except there doesn’t seem to be an inflated ego. Plus, Barb is a lot more adorable, a lot cuter, than Curt (no offense meant to her best friend). Either way, it’s a small bit of familiarity and friendliness in an unknown space.

Suddenly, Barb stops – both mid-sentence and in front of a door. “Here we are,” she announces. “I’ll be just down that hallway, feel free to come find me when you’re done. Good luck.”

Tatiana nods. She smiles at Barb as she walks away. Then she turns to face the door. For good measure, she takes a deep breath before nodding.

“Come in.” The voice from the other side of the door sounds strangely familiar, but it can’t be. It’s impossible. But then she pushes the door open and sure enough, there he is. Owen Carvour sits behind a desk with a smug smile on his lips. “Good to see you alive and well, love. Close the door on your way in, if you don’t mind.”

She does as requested, then makes her way through the relatively small office to take a space in the chair opposite of Owen. “You died,” she tells him like he doesn’t know already. “You’re dead. What are you doing here?”

A chuckle escapes his lips. “Oh, but I didn’t. I’m very much still alive. Much like you.”

Obviously he’s still alive, she can see that. But she can’t wrap her head around it. “Curt watched you fall off that building. You never returned. What happened?”

Owen leans back in his chair and starts explaining. Chimera (that’s what the C stands for) found him and took him in, took care of him until he felt better. There were a few doctors among them (there still are) and he doesn’t think he would have made it without their assistance. He wanted to come back, he really did, but then he realized that Chimera was doing something better.

They were working on a cure. “Still are, actually. And that’s where you come in, love.”

She narrows her eyes. “What does that mean?”

“You haven’t turned yet, have you?” She shakes her head. “We have all reason to believe you’re our best shot at a cure.”

“I–”

“You don’t have to make your mind up about it yet. Take some time and think about it. You’re welcome to stay here for as long as you need. If you fetch Barb, I’m sure she’ll show you around.”

She considers pressing her question, considers asking why he didn’t come back. If he misses Curt. But he looks ready for her to leave and Tatiana never liked Owen too much, so she doesn’t mind leaving. So she decides to save her questions for later, gives him a nod and walks out to find Barb who shows her around. At least spending time with Barb is nice.


	3. The Roof

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> spyentists spyentists i love them very much. that's what this chapter is all about

“And this is the roof!” Barb holds her hand out and lets Tatiana’s gaze wander over… well, the roof. It’s not super exciting and there’s a small tower with a guard keeping a watch, but it’s a rather private and relaxing spot so she’s thankful for Barb showing her anyway. “That concludes our tour around the facility. What do you think?”

Tatiana shrugs. “It’s… nice? I like it here. Have you had any walkers on the premise? Is that something I need to worry about?”

“No, not at all. We have an alarm system, should any break in, and it’s never gone off.” They make their way back downstairs and Barb starts Tatiana back towards her room. “Come to think of it, we did have a few before we secured the area, but Dick and some others cleared them out rather quickly and they haven’t been a problem since then.”

In the hallway, they pass Dick Big himself. “And you’re welcome, ginger puss.”

If looks could kill, Dick Big would be dead where he stands. Both Tatiana and Barb don’t bother replying, but Tatiana does spare him a nod of acknowledgement before she opens the door to her room. Once they’re in, she shuts it in his face.

Once they’re sat on her bed, Tatiana decides that maybe now is the time to ask her questions. Of all the people here, Barb has been the most constant support she’s had. She’s been the kindest, most open and Tatiana has grown to care about her quite a bit, despite the short time she’s spent in the facility. If anyone would be willing to answer her questions, it’d be Barb. “So what exactly is your plan?”

Barb furrows her brows. “My plan?”

“Your plan. Chimera’s plan. With the cure, with me. What’s the plan?”

“Oh!” Barb laughs; it sounds kind of nervous, but maybe it’s just excitement. Tatiana can never tell. She takes a moment to think, moves a strand of hair behind her ear and sighs before looking back up at her. “Well, once Irene gets back, she’s going to start analyzing the blood tests. I don’t know exactly what she plans to do, but she’s the one who’s in charge of the whole… cure thing.”

Tatiana, puzzled by this new information, tilts her head a bit to the side. “Irene is in charge? I thought  _ you  _ were the lead scientist.”

“Oh, uhh...” she trails off and looks down. Is that blush she sees on Barb’s cheeks? If so, that’s impressive; Tatiana is not one to judge, but being called a lead scientist isn’t exactly what she’d classify as blush material. Still, it’s cute and knowing Barb blushes easily is nice information to have. “Well, I  _ am  _ the lead scientist, that’s true. But I’m not really a biology person. Irene has dedicated many, many years of her life to biotechnology. She knows a lot more about what needs to be done than I do, so she’s leading the cure research. Which is fine; it’s for the better, actually. She’s quite smart, that Irene.”

“Well, I think you’re quite smart as well.” Tatiana inches her hand closer to Barb’s and makes sure to brush her finger against Barb’s. Yeah. She’s definitely blushing. “If not biology and… biotechnology… what then is your area of expertise? What do you do?”

Barb excitedly tells her; she’s more of an inventor. She prefers physics to biology, but she also knows quite a bit about chemistry. She’s also quite an engineer. Not by education, of course, but by craft. Self-proclaimed engineer. She loves designing mechanisms, each more effective and smaller than the last. Gizmo and gadgets, she does it all.

It’s all very fascinating to hear about, so Tatiana enjoys each second Barb spends ranting about her craft. She also enjoys sneaking her hand into Barb’s, and even more she enjoys the fact that Barb doesn’t seem to mind. In fact, she gives Tatiana’s hand a little squeeze. And that’s apparently enough to make Tatiana blush.

Irene returns to base a few days later and Tatiana sits through countless tests. She has no idea how they’re going to use them, how they’re going to make a cure, but she supposes that’s fine. She’s a spy, not a scientist, after all.

Once she’s free to leave for the day and Irene runs off to a meeting with Charlie, her scientist friend, Tatiana goes to locate Barb. It’s easy enough, because Barb is waiting literally outside the room.

“Tatiana!”

She smiles. “Hey Barb. What are you doing here?”

“Waiting for you, of course.” It makes Tatiana smile. And Barb smiles too, so it’s all good. “I have something to show you.”

Tatiana raises an eyebrow. “Oh? What exactly would that be?”

“It’s a surprise.”

Barb takes her hand and Tatiana has no complaints. She follows Barb as she leads her down the hallways, and eventually the two of them end up in front of the ladder leading up to the roof.

It’s a lot nicer than she remembers it. She can’t even pretend it’s because it’s night and because the moonlight and stars make everything prettier, because while that’s true it’s not what’s important or interesting or even nice. What’s important and interesting and more than nice is the picnic blanket spread out at a nice spot away from the watchtower. What’s important and interesting and nice is the fact that Barb leads her over there.

“Barb… what is this?”

Barb smiles. “It’s something nice. For you. Well, for us. But mostly for you. Now come, sit down!” She squeezes Tatiana’s hand and leads her to the blanket, and Tatiana happily follows.

They sit down and while not the most comfortable of seats, it’s nice. She likes it. Barb takes out some matches and lights the candles and the two of them lay down next to each other. At first, they look up at the stars and while beautiful, she ends up getting distracted.

But Tatiana doesn’t mind, getting distracted that is. Because Barb is beautiful, Barb is kind and Barb is moving closer. Tatiana places her hand on Barb’s cheek and watches as a smile grows on her lips. Everything in her wants to kiss Barb right then and there, so she leans in and–

“Oh, hey guys!” Tatiana knows that voice, but she can’t quite place it; so she looks up and she’s met with the sight of Susan smiling down at them.

Cynthia is not far behind. “God, if you guys are going to make out, just fucking do it already. It’s not like we haven’t seen it before.”

She doesn’t stop talking, but Tatiana tunes her out. The moment is ruined and she reluctantly helps Barb blow out the candles before the two of them leave Cynthia and Susan. Maybe another time.


	4. The Alarm

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> a spy is a spy is a spy even in the apocalypse

When you’ve grown accustomed to the life of a spy and to a new world filled with walking dead people who will stop at nothing to kill you, it’s kind of hard to not be a light sleeper; so when the alarm system goes off in the middle of the night, Tatiana is immediately awake.

She’s also immediately worrying. The alarm going off is not a good sign, not in any way shape or form. Or well. It’s a good thing it goes off rather than leave them in the dark about their intruder, but it’s still not good-good. It’s bad-good.

And since Tatiana is the newest addition to the Chimera base, she has no idea what to do about it. They’ve been too focused about developing that cure when it comes to her that they’ve completely forgotten to introduce her to basic protocol.

So she takes the matter into her own hands. She grabs the machete and the gun they’ve let her have in her room and she heads down the hall, as quietly and stealthily as she can. She’ll do what she can to fend off whatever is lurking, but most importantly, she’ll protect Barb.

For some reason, she’s not able to get Barb out of her head lately. Especially after that night on the roof, all her thoughts have been  _ Barb, Barb, Barb _ and honestly? She doesn’t mind at all. They’re nice thoughts, all of them. And if she doesn’t know what else to do in this situation, at least she can go make sure Barb is alright.

She slips into Barb’s room and is surprised to see Barb standing with a raised baseball bat, ready to strike should an intruder enter her room. And she does swing, but manages to stop herself from hitting Tatiana by moving back.

“Sorry about that,” she whispers while scratching the side of her head.

A quiet laugh escapes Tatiana’s lips. “That is totally okay, do not worry about it. How do you guys say… ‘better be safe than sorry’.”

Barb gives the weapons in Tatiana’s hands a good look, then puts her bat down in her bed. The fact that Barb feels safe enough to do that is comforting. Of course four hands in a fight is better than two, but it’s still very sweet and she can’t help it but smile. And besides, the bed is close enough for Barb to pick it up again quickly, should they come to need it.

“So how has your day been?”

Barb raises an eyebrow. “Really? That’s the question you want to ask in the middle of an emergency?”

Tatiana nods. “Yes it is. I care about you a lot. Whatever happens will happen anyway, so why not spend the time we’ll spend waiting hearing about your day?”

It makes Barb blush and even though she’s seen it countless times before, it still manages to be just as cute. As far as she’s concerned, Barb needs to stop being this cute and this nice or Tatiana is going to progress from having a crush on her to straight up falling for her.

A little voice at the back of her head tells her that she’s already fallen for Barb, but she pushes it away. Falling in love in the middle of the apocalypse is not only actively stupid, but it’s also something Tatiana swore to herself she’d never let happen. There’s too many risks involved and too many feelings. The world, as it is right now and likely will be for a while, doesn’t support feelings.

So maybe asking Barb to tell her about her day in what could very possibly be her final moments is a stupid thing. Because she listens while the girl she’s trying so desperately not to fall for tells her about what she’s helped Irene accomplish and which projects she’s worked on for Owen and Cynthia, and it’s such a tiny thing but she enjoys it so much.

And suddenly the voice in her head has another voice, fighting against the first one. This one is much more hopeful (much dumber as well), because this one believes that it doesn’t matter. If she dies (which is very likely with the state the world is in) she’ll die with the experience of having fallen in love. She’ll die happier.

Well, that is if Barb likes her back, of course. She has to account for that as well.

With the intruder (or the zombie…  _ zombies _ ) already in the building, she has to confront her reality. Love is fleeting and they might very well both die tonight, together. Does she want to die keeping her feelings locked up but secure, or does she want to die having owned up to them? Having taken her shot at maybe possibly be loved back?

She draws a sharp breath. “Can I kiss you?”

Barb’s jaw drops for a second as she stands there, looking slightly confused. But after a second or two, her lips form a smile. “Of course you can.”

“Really?”

Barb nods, this time not even taking a second to. She moves a bit closer to Tatiana and looks up at her, still with that warm smile on her lips (and once again blushing; she blushes a lot, huh?). “Really. I’ve wanted to for a while and I was going to, that day on the roof you know? But then Cynthia stopped by and, well, I didn’t really know what to do. But I do know that I want to. I really, really want to.”

Okay, so Tatiana can’t escape the fact that she’s now smiling, probably like an idiot. And she might be blushing as well, but she can’t see if she is so it doesn’t matter.

She momentarily drops her weapons off in the bed so she can grab both sides of Barb’s face. It’s hard to stop smiling, but she manages just enough to press her lips against Barb’s without it feeling  _ too  _ awkward.

It ends up not feeling awkward at all. Barb’s mouth tastes like mint and her lips are really soft and Tatiana cares about her very much. At this point, it’s impossible for her to deny the feelings there (especially because she’s already kind of admitted them out loud in the form of asking if she could kiss her, but she decides that that doesn’t matter).

As much as the two of them want to keep kissing, they’re also incredibly aware of their situation so they decide to stop. For now. Tatiana fastens the machete to her belt and lets the gun stay in her hand, just in case. A machete is quieter, but if she can’t draw her second weapon in time, a gun is more effective.

They quietly talk, just enjoy each other’s company, until Tatiana hears something moving in the hallway. Doors open, so it’s probably not a zombie. Maybe it’s Owen or Cynthia or someone else coming to tell them that the situation is under control, that they’re safe again, but she can’t get too optimistic. She holds up a finger to silently let Barb know they better stay quiet.

When the sound of the doors opening comes closer, Tatiana raises her gun and points it at the door, ready to shoot if the face she sees isn’t a friendly one. And it turns out to be for the better, because their door starts creaking open.


	5. The End

The door opens and Tatiana’s ready to pull the trigger when she sees him. “Curt?” She lowers the gun as she watches her best friend make his way into the room, closing the door behind him. 

“Hi Tatiana. Good to see you again.” He has a gun of his own and it’s pointing directly at Barb, who at this point has picked her baseball bat back up. “Now if you want to keep breathing, I suggest you put that down and let her go with me.”

Oh. “No. Curt, listen to me.” Tatiana puts her gun down completely and goes to grab both sides of Curt’s face. “I’m not in any danger and if you’re careful, neither are you. These are good people.”

He shakes his head. “No they’re not. They  _ kidnapped  _ you. That’s not something good people do.”

“They didn’t kidnap me. They saved my life.”

The look on Curt’s face is somewhere between hurt and confusion. “So all this time… you just didn’t come back because you didn’t want to?”

It’s hard to know what the right thing to say is. Tatiana opens her mouth but finds nothing comes out.

Luckily, Barb steps in to take over. “So you must be the famous Agent Curt Mega I’ve heard so much about. Hi, I’m Barb. Barb Larvernor.” She sticks her hand, the one not holding the baseball bat, forward and offers it to Curt.

While the look of hurt and concussion doesn’t leave him, he does shake Barb’s hand. “Sure,” he says before turning back to face Tatiana. “What is happening? What is all this?”

Tatiana sighs. She had feared the day this would happen, the day she’d have to face Curt and earn up to her mistakes. She knew he’d be upset, but she supposes an upset Curt is better than a dead one. “Remember that day in the woods? The day I sent you home with our supplies?”

He nods.

“I made you go on without me because…” She holds up her wrist, the one with a bite mark still not completely healed. “I got bit. I didn’t know how to tell you, so I figured I’d go out fighting to keep the zombies distracted while you brought home the medical supplies. I didn’t think I’d survive.”

“But you did.”

“But I did,” she says back, nodding. “Thanks to these people. Well, partly. They found me and brought me back here. I’m immune, Curt. And they have a team of scientists developing a cure.”

Curt takes a deep breath. He pulls Tatiana in for a tight hug and she lets him. When he pulls back, she sees a tear rolling down his cheek. He wipes it away and they both nod at each other, a silent agreement not to acknowledge it right now. “I still don’t get why you didn’t come tell us, why you didn’t say anything we were worried about you. We–”

The door swings open once again and a new voice cuts off Curt. “Barb! Are you– Curt?” Owen stands there, mouth open. In all the years Tatiana has known him, she doesn’t think she’s ever seen him look that surprised. “What are you doing here?”

She has, however, seen Curt look that surprised. “Owen? No. No, no. You’re supposed to be dead. I…” He turns to look at Tatiana for help, but she has nothing. “What is going on?”

Owen chuckles. Nothing’s funny, but that’s his business not hers. “Why don’t you follow me to my office and we can have a talk about all this?”

Curt looks between the two of them a few times. Then he nods.

Before he leaves, Tatiana hugs him once again. “Stay safe, alright?” She’s not afraid that she won’t see him again; whatever reason Owen had to run off without a word is his business but she hopes he knows she will not hesitate to put a bullet through his skull should he hurt Curt further.

After Curt and Owen walk off, Tatiana and Barb are left alone in Barb’s room yet again. The mood is certainly less pressured than before; with the whole threat of being moments away from death gone, all that’s left is a declaration of feelings still lingering in the air and well, the weird and kind of awkward mood their brief encounter with  _ the  _ Agent Curt Mega left.

It’s Barb who breaks the silence. “What’s with them? I didn’t know they knew each other.”

“Owen and I go way back. Before I was Curt’s partner, that was Owen’s job. Well, except Owen was always a partner in more ways than I ever was. Ever  _ wanted  _ to be.”

“I’m not sure I g– wait, were they, like, partners-partners?”

Tatiana nods. “They were. We always thought Owen had died. Curt was heartbroken for a long time. I can’t imagine what he’s going through right now.”

Barb nods along, but stops after a while to look at the floor. She looks like she’s reaching for a thought and sure enough, she catches it and looks up at Tatiana with a soft smile. “Then don’t.”

“Don’t… what?”

“Don’t imagine it,” Barb says. “You know, I’m not sure who but, a good friend of mine once said,  _ ‘Whatever happens will happen anyway’. _ Now, I think what that means is that certain things in life you can’t control; so why not enjoy the moment that’s at hand instead of worrying about a potential future you have no way of changing?”

“Barb?”

“Mm-hmm?”

“I told you that.”

Barb smiles widely. “I know.” She stands on the tip of her toes and reaches to wrap her arms around Tatiana’s neck, then presses a quick kiss on her lips.

And like it often is, Barb is right. While it’s hard to not constantly worry about the future, maybe what’s important is enjoying the present because that’s all they really have.

She can talk to Curt in the morning, but she can kiss Barb right now. So she does. And she can lay in bed, her arms wrapped around the woman she’s fallen for right now. So she does. She can love and feel loved right now.

So she does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! thank you so much for reading!! i just want to announce that i love tatiana and barb (and the post-apocalypse) very much. also happy halloween, ava! (and everyone else who's reading this on the 31st of october kljsdfksd). find me @krayonders on tumblr!


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